Writer @IrishExaminer, author of Val's Kitchen, Bread on the Table and Irish Bread. Fermentation fanatic and teacher of fermenting and plant based cooking.

June 2007

June 27, 2007

In the middle of moving house and life it’s good to take a day or a night off and leave your brain at home. Last night was one I was very looking forward to, it was the launch of the new Bridgestone Irish Food Guide, did I mention I am a contributing editor, ahem…Anyway I spent most of yesterday running up and down Dundrum shopping centre like a headless teenager going to my debs. I bought daft shoes and got my make up done and my hair so I looked like a step ford wife, only taller. The book launch was held at the impossibly cool Fallon & Byrne in

Dublin

. Though I’ve not yet been to New York, swooning friends have gushed that it’s like Fallon & Byrne; trendy, full of interesting grub and people nibbling organic goodies late into the night at high tables overlooking Exchequer Street. I’ll miss that when I move, though I have only been there once….

Back to the launch. In all my time eating and writing for John and Sally Clarke, creators of the food guide, I had so far not met them. It was only when John made his opening speech that I found out who was who. Not only did I get to meet the lovely Sally, their three kids were also there and impeccable. My Son No.1 would have been like a pig in you-know-what. Lots of food producers were showcasing their tasty wares at the event. Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese from Kilkenny had a great goat’s camembert that was creamier then any supermarket cheese. Sean Kelly from Kelly’s of

Newport

was exuberant as he described the process of making their famous black and white puddings. He had a sheep’s stomach, black from the pudding making, on the table and told me how puddings used to be made, and it was a real one. The black pudding terrine looked amazing but I forgot to go back for a taste. The white pudding was like velvet and delicately spiced, the black is like the best fillet steak. You can get them in F&B and Donnybrook Fair for now. Kelly’s Organic Dairy Products from their Moonshine Dairy Farm were yummy spreadable cheeses in jars. Nettles made an unusual but so healthy addition to one cheese and the yogurt drinks were good but a bit pricey for the kid’s lunchboxes. We gorged ourselves with griddle cakes made on-the-spot by Robert Ditty who also makes the most incredibly crumbly, buttery oatcakes. Robert proudly gave me a new invention to taste; a cheese oatcake made with Gubeen cheese from

West Cork

. Yummy but I prefer the original recipe. Geraldine Bass’s smoked salmon from the Old Millbank Smokehouse was pale pink and so tender and delicious.

As we continued to fill our faces to bursting they started to bring out the real food, oh no! We were full already but it didn’t stop me continuing to try great cheeses like Coolea from

Cork

and Cratloe Hills from, the Cratloe Hills right beside where I grew up. Boards of smoked meats had the tenderest smoked ham that makes

Parma

seem like old boots. Then the oysters came, I’ve only started eating these bad boys recently. They were so fresh and juicy and not at all rubbery. My first experience with an oyster was in Kinsale many years ago at a friend’s oyster farm. He fished a huge one out of the sea, shucked it and handed it to me. A comedy wrestling match ensued of me trying to swallow this living, slimy thing, and it trying to get out of my mouth. We agreed on one thing, neither of us wanted to take part in the horrible ritual. It put me off forever until now. Oysters are, as we all know, both bizarrely ugly and sexy at the same time and taste, strange and great at the same time.

Ireland

’s answer to the celebrity chef, Nevin Maguire opened the evening with John Clarke who rightly said that

Ireland

now has more artisan producers than ever before. It’s an exciting time and chefs hats off to all the people who took leaps of faith and jumped in to make their wonderful foods. Producing good food brings people up against so many rules, regulations and long, long hours not to mention financial risks but the rewards, down the line are great, not just to eat but hopefully for the producers too.

A huge thanks to John and Sally for making me part of the whole thing. Then we went to the pub!

June 22, 2007

I’ve been the worst food blogger in the blogosphere recently, I know. Where are the nice recipes, the quick and easy meals for kids, the fancy smanzy grub for the weekend? Well for now it’s all on hold as I’ve started to live off M&S food (said in an impossibly sexy Mariella Forstrup type drawl). The reason for my abandonment of all things foodie is that I’m in the middle of moving myself and the sprogs to my home-town of Limerick, the soon-to-be food-capital of

Ireland

.

No really, I am moving the lot of us a smaller, maybe saner part of

Ireland

. They say moving is fun and stressful at the same time. As I burned an M&S steak pie, I began to understand why. It’s all-consuming; from finding the school, breaking up with the present school (it’s hard to do), finding the job, (not done yet) and leaving the hard earned pals

(the hardest part of all). That great network we all need when we have kids to mind and juggle is now there, Mammies swapping babies so they can go out to work or for coffee or to get their hair done. I’m sure I’ll get that again, then I’ll have two great networks of amazing friends.

For the moment I’m not really in

Dublin

anymore. When people call me to book me for photography jobs I answer the phone, flabbergasted, they want me to do what? Work? Physically I’m here but I’m not. Clearing out my boys wardrobe was as much fun as pulling glass out of my eyeballs. A hundred scruffy T-shirts, who needs them? Of course we should dispose of our years of hoarded rubbish conscientiously. I’ve done the car-boot sale, great fun and I only bought a home composting to add to my junk while I was there. Next is the giving away of stuff to friends, in lieu of baby-sitting and then comes the clothes recyclcing bin where, apparently your old rags end up being somebody elses mattress. I have too much junk in my house. I just want to walk out and close the door and start again…….So does anybody have any recipes for somebody relocating everything and going a little bit gaga?

June 13, 2007

The Mediterranean weather of the last week meant my time was spent outside, armed with either a picnic or a disposable barbeque at the beach. Truth be told, I forgot all about my blog, and all about cooking. But then yesterday the heavens opened and I got hungry so I cooked some fantastic wok-fried sea bream, a Jamie recipe, with a haul of goodies from the Asian supermarket on Drury Street. The fish were wonderfully zingy, being marinated in a muddle of lime, soy, garlic and lemongrass, then fried and dressed in a similar melange but with tons of fresh coriander and basil thrown in for freshness. They were lightly dusted with flour and fried for a short time to make them as crisp as tempura, served on a bed of steamed bok choi this dish brought me all the way back to a seaside table in Vietnam. Where is the photo of this amazing fishy dish you ask…. Well fried fish with heads on just don’t look so good. I did take the pictures but drooling got the better of creativity and I threw down my camera and tucked in till all was left was a messy pile of bones. Son No.1 loves this too. Served with a hill of steamed Jasmine rice and some pork belly in soy and garlic for Son No.2 who don’t like fish, we were a happy and full-bellied bunch.

A happy surprise awaited me today in the postbox, a large package containing two copies of the Bridgestone Irish Food Guide by John and Sally McKenna. The McKennas, based in

Cork

, have been publishing this guide along with the reputable Top 100 Restaurants Guide for many years now. Walk around

Ireland

and you will see plaques awarded to those who make the grade proudly fixed on outside walls of restaurants and food shops.

John and Sally asked me to contribute to the guide and I had the happy task of eating in restaurants, and giving out about bad food and having someone listen to me, the joy. Lots of Limerick places were on my list and I’m happy to see a heavy

Limerick

presence in the book. Fellow bloggers Lor and Bru from La Cucina get a mention, as do Ivan’s shop where we buy our newspapers and where award winning blogger and baker Laura sells her tasty treats. The Milk Market has a good write up but, rightly so, it is mentioned that it needs extra support from the City Council and local authorities to help reach its full potential. The Sage Café gets a well deserved half page, and the orange cheese cake makes an appearance, pre smaller portion time I think. The

, and of course the excellent Brulees. To see my name in the list of contributing editors made me jump around the kitchen with happiness, my name in a book, I had no idea and I’m chuffed. Well enough about me and the unlimited frontiers of the blogosphere.

With the sexy new Hilton Hotel overlooking the river Shannon and the Marriot in the city centre ( am I writing for the

Limerick

tourist board?) maybe it’s time to don your eating pants and head to this culinary jewel of the south. We could all meet up for a pint, or some artisan cheese, or a pizza, or some muffins…….